UFC 144 | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

UFC 144 Results: Is Mark Hunt the Most Underrated Heavyweight in the UFC?

Mark Hunt is 3-0 in the UFC in 2012. If you told 99 percent of MMA fans that just a few short years ago they would have laughed, let alone believe you. The Super Samoan is one of the hottest fighters in the UFC and will mostly likely face a…

Let’s face it, the UFC heavyweight roster is filled with some of the biggest, most accomplished names in MMA. From current Champion Junior Dos Santos to Alistair Overeem and “Big Nog,” there aren’t any names that will truly sneak up on anyone. Even mid-tier fighters like Gabriel Gonzaga, Ben Rothwell and Brendan Schuab are not surprises and seem to be ranked in their proper place. Simply put, there aren’t many fighters who you can say are underrated.

Is Mark Hunt the most underrated heavyweight? To answer that let’s compare him to the only two UFC heavyweights that I can argue are underrated: Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir.

These future opponents are considered top five fighters though they often don’t get enough credit for their accomplishments. With Cain, you are talking about a fighter who has one, quick loss to a dominate record. After that high profile defeat to JDS he seemed to be dropped rapidly by experts when it can be argued he should be ranked along side the current Champ.

With Mir you are talking about a long-time UFC veteran whose only losses since his resurgence have come to bigger, stronger opponents (Lesnar and Carwin). Skill-wise he is among the best and most well-rounded fighters on the entire roster, making this match-up a must-see event.

When discussing where Mark Hunt stands, many people knock him down because of his many past struggles and lacking record of 8-7. However that does not take into consideration his fight-changing power and his seemingly new found dedication to the craft. Hunt has made himself into a more powerful Roy Nelson, a fighter who can give a ton of punishment, takes some shots and avoids the majority of takedowns.

Mark Hunt isn’t a fringe top 20 heavyweight. That’s someone who would need to win by upset to beat a top 10 guy. Hunt, in my eyes, would be even money against anyone 11-20 and could very easily beat top 10 fighters like Carwin, Big Nog and Bigfoot Silva. There are very few fighters in the roster that could explode Hunt’s biggest weakness, making them vulnerable to his KO power.

This Mark Hunt, the 2012 version, has a legitimate shot at becoming a top 10 heavyweight. Don’t let that 8-7 record fool you. He is underrated, scary, and an opponent that no heavyweight wants to be across the cage from.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 144 Results: Breaking Down Hatsu Hioki vs. Jose Aldo

With a dominating performance against Bart Palaszewski at UFC 144, Hatsu Hioki added fuel to the debate as to when the Japanese star should receive a title shot. Widely regarded as the second-best featherweight in the world, Hioki could very well be ne…

With a dominating performance against Bart Palaszewski at UFC 144, Hatsu Hioki added fuel to the debate as to when the Japanese star should receive a title shot.

Widely regarded as the second-best featherweight in the world, Hioki could very well be next in line for champion Jose Aldo.

That is the exact reason the UFC brought Hioki in—to challenge for Aldo’s title. Does Hikoi have the skills to take the title to Japan? Or would Aldo keep the belt in Brazil?

Begin Slideshow

UFC 144 Results: Does Edgar’s Loss Drop Him from the Pound-for-Pound Discussion?

For his entire career in mixed martial arts it seems as though Frankie Edgar has been overlooked. People didn’t think he deserved a lightweight title shot against BJ Penn. He got that shot anyway and won. People thought it was a fluke, and he had…

For his entire career in mixed martial arts it seems as though Frankie Edgar has been overlooked.

People didn’t think he deserved a lightweight title shot against BJ Penn. He got that shot anyway and won.

People thought it was a fluke, and he had to fight Penn again. He did, and he beat him even worse.

People said Gray Maynard had already beaten him, so he should fight him again. He did. Twice. Maynard couldn’t take the title from him, and his final seconds against Edgar saw him face down on the canvas eating punches and waiting to be saved by an official.

After all that, people finally started to say “hey, this Frankie Edgar is pretty good.”

At the front of the line was UFC president Dana White, anxious to make a few bucks off his scrappy champion by proclaiming him to be a real-life Rocky and one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

While you’d sometimes be wise to take White’s bold claims with a grain of salt, this was one that held some merit. Here was a guy who fought in the toughest division in the sport without cutting more than a few pounds, and got to the top against all odds.

People wanted him to lose; he won. People thought he couldn’t beat a legend; he did. People said he’d never overcome his nemesis; it happened.

Edgar was an undersized guy with a heart most of us only dream of, a fighter who an opponent would have to kill in order to beat him, and he held the hardest gold to keep in the UFC for almost two years. He defined the concept of pound-for-pound, because he got by against bigger, stronger opposition based solely on technique.

Good boxing. Good wrestling. Slick footwork.

He took physical gifts, perhaps aside from his speed, almost entirely out of the equation and managed to be the best in the world at his weight class.

Now, he no longer has a title. What does this change for him when it comes time to talk pound-for-pound rankings?

Truthfully, the answer should be nothing. Edgar is still the best in the world when it comes to besting bigger, scarier opponents that he really has no business beating.

That’s the core concept behind pound-for-pound: if you could make all things equal physically, who would be the best fighter in the world?

The answer to that is Anderson Silva, most likely, with Georges St-Pierre not that far behind. Then, belt or not, it’s hard to argue that Edgar doesn’t belong on their heels. Even in the loss that cost him that belt, it was razor thin and he lost to an enormous lightweight who got by on power and bulk for most of the fight.

People won’t agree with this, mostly because Edgar’s style isn’t for everyone. His picking and pawing frustrates a lot of fans, and if it wasn’t for his tremendous showings against Maynard many would be completely turned off by him.

However the fact remains that he’s still one of the best mixed martial artists in the world fighting in the toughest division in the sport, and he’s doing it at an epic size disadvantage.

Lightweight title be damned, if that’s not pound-for-pound greatness then nothing is.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 144 Results: 5 Fights to Get Kid Yamamoto Back on Track

For a long time, Kid Yamamoto was one of the baddest dudes in MMA. The UFC excitedly snapped him up upon introducing the bantamweight division to the promotion, but he’s gone 0-3 and may well be receiving a pink slip after another loss at UFC 144…

In the event he doesn’t, here are some options for his next tilt if the UFC hopes to get him back on track.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 144 Results: Mark Hunt and the Top 10 Heavyweights in the UFC

On Saturday night, Mark Hunt continued his incredible UFC story, as he knocked out Cheick Kongo in the first round and won his third straight UFC bout.Coming into the UFC, Hunt was 5-6, and he then lost his first fight in the Octagon in a mere 63 secon…

On Saturday night, Mark Hunt continued his incredible UFC story, as he knocked out Cheick Kongo in the first round and won his third straight UFC bout.

Coming into the UFC, Hunt was 5-6, and he then lost his first fight in the Octagon in a mere 63 seconds.

Now, he’s won three in a row—including two knockouts—and just defeated a consensus top 10 heavyweight fighter.

Hunt is taking MMA seriously, and he’s getting better.

Let’s take a look at where he sits now in the heavyweight division.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 144 Results: Was UFC 144 Fight Card of the Year?

UFC 144 was top-to-bottom one of the greatest fight cards in the last 365 days and it’s definitely a lock for fight card of the year (although, to be fair, we’re only two months into 2012 so far). The card simply had it all. The first fight o…

The card simply had it all.

The first fight of the night set the tone with an epic knockout. Chinese prospect Tiequan Zhang was laid out flat by Issei Tamura in a stunning upset.

Later, there was a veritable brawl between Riki Fukuda and Steve Cantwell that saw the Japanese fighter earn a decision victory.

After that, the card got even more thrilling.

In a back and forth affair, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto was submitted for the very first time in his career by the unheralded Vaughan Lee.

We also got to see Takanori Gomi return to the winning column in a competitive match that saw him come back from being hurt and earn a TKO.

And all that was just on the preliminaries!

On the main card the most exciting moments included Anthony Pettis’ masterful KO of Joe Lauzon, Hatsu Hioki’s domination of Bart Palaszewski, Tim Boetsch’s insane comeback TKO over Yushin Okami, Mark Hunt’s KO of Cheick Kongo, and the epic duel between Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson for the UFC lightweight championship.

No other card can boast not only the amount of star power and significant matchups that 144 had, but also the entertainment value of the said fights.

It’s definitely one of the best head-to-toe fight cards in the history of MMA. Of that, there is no doubt.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com